


The Beginning

by Kaori_Nagisa



Series: The Prophet and the Virgin Mary [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 07:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5700010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaori_Nagisa/pseuds/Kaori_Nagisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saren unintentionally rescues a young girl from Mindoir, the only survivor left after a brutal attack by batarian slavers. What starts as an unconventional meeting proceeds into a strange sort of coexistence for the duration of their voyage back to the Citadel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Nova Shepard is my second femshep who I ended up making younger and the cousin to my "canon" femshep. This is basically the beginning of her story, and the starting point to her future relationship with Saren.

It was hell.

Fires raged everywhere - some roaring with the same intensity with which they must have started, others smoldering out. The colony looked like a war zone. Wreckage was strewn everywhere, black scorch marks peppering the walls and ground and everything in between. No bodies to be seen, save for a few unfortunate souls who were long dead and bled out within the buildings, firearms not far from their side and bloodied from their pathetic struggle. They were the lucky ones, however - those who chose death rather than the fate that awaited them. 

Batarian slavers had hit the small colony. The work was brutal, efficient - and messy. And there were never survivors left behind. Only corpses. The sweep they had been sent to perform should have been a simple mission, uneventful and boring. Saren still didn’t understand the point of sending a Spectre to an out-of-the-way human colony, but it had been a direct order from the Council. Perhaps they merely thought the Alliance too incompetent to assist one of their own colonies. He didn’t know, and didn’t rightly care - only wanted to finish this pointless business up.

They ran into no sign of life as the sweep commenced. Bodies hung from the ceilings like demented puppets, the fortunate deaths seemingly mocked as the batarians used the colonist corpses like some morbid art prop. Saren let out a disgusted growl. His hatred of humans ran deep, but batarians could almost match up in how much he despised their kind. 

He ordered his men to spread out and check for any stragglers off the main slaver group. There was always a chance a few smaller ships were left behind to salvage materials, after the initial assault was over and everyone on the colony was either dead or in captivity. For all his dislike of the species, Saren couldn’t help feeling just the slightest tug of sympathy for the fates of the survivors. As his eyes glanced over another mutilated corpse, he applauded the humans who chose to keep fighting rather than submit. They were still weak, gunned down like simple animals - but they were a stubborn species, something he admired, however slightly, in a situation such as this.

Gunfire further down a hall drew his attention, eyes snapping to the area and body quickly moving towards cover out of a finely-honed instinct. Soon he saw one of his team backing down the hallway slowly, and the distinct sound of a limp body hitting the floor. His posture relaxed slightly, and he gave the soldier a quick pat as he passed by to investigate himself. A batarian, as expected, its four beady eyes wide in shock. Saren withdrew his pistol and fired a round into the thing’s large head, a final measure but an unnecessary one. Stepping over the corpse, he continued his way through the interior of what looked to have been used as a warehouse of some sort. A perfect place for any stragglers to have scurried off to hide in after hearing the shots. Readying his pistol, Saren cautiously walked through the winding alleys created by stacks of crates piling high in the air. 

There was a noticeable lack of signs of battle or a struggle. Untouched - strange, given how easily it would have been to hide within the claustrophobic piles. Devoid of life as well, Saren found, continuing on his way and sensing no threats. The humans must have simply been caught too unaware to think of taking refuge within. Or too stupid. 

Humans were remarkably stupid creatures. 

Saren finally cleared through to the back end of the warehouse, where the stacks and piles seemed to recede from, giving the area a much wider and more open space. He scanned around, seeing neither batarian nor human corpses. Satisfied, he turned to leave. 

This was simply a routine mission. It was as boring a routine mission as he had expected. 

Only it wasn’t. As he turned and holstered his pistol, a small thump sounded, drawing his eyes towards the spot. The gun was back in his hand in an instant, and he cautiously moved sideways towards a pile of crates just sturdy enough to act as cover, should the need arise. Speaking loudly, voice flanging with a petrifying authority, he said, “Hiding won’t do you any good.” 

There was another sound, as if someone was scrambling to cower further behind something. He pointed his pistol at a small area just beside where it was coming from, and fired off a warning shot. There was a cry - small, and distinctly not batarian. He edged closer towards the spot, still speaking with that same demanding tone as before.

“I suggest you show yourself before I lose my patience. The next round will be going straight through the crate.”

It was a moment longer, and just as Saren began to lightly squeeze on the trigger, a person finally emerged. Small, pale, and with only a single set of eyes, piercing green peeking out from a messed head of blonde hair. He relaxed his grip on his gun, but did not lower it as he stared the young female human down. 

She looked at him with such terror, and also confusion. It was to be expected, he supposed. She had likely been suspecting a batarian, one of the stragglers left behind for salvage and any additional roundup. The girl was lucky, he realized - had his team not arrived when they did, she may very well have been found by the one who had just been killed. Did she see him as salvation, he wondered, or yet another nightmare? The thought was amusing, though it did little to break his cold eyes away from the pathetic thing now shivering in front of him. Her clothes were torn, spattered with blood here and there - not her own, he realized, seeing no visible wounds anywhere. There were some noticeable bruises along her skin, and grubby streaks staining the length of her face from eyes to jaw. She had been lucky. 

Finally lowering his gun after realizing how little of a threat the girl was, Saren called up his omni-tool. “Finish up here and prepare to return to the ship.” He neglected to mention the survivor, but felt there was no real need. It had not been in the mission briefing to round up and assist any remaining colonists - only perform a sweep of the area and dispatch any slavers still found on-site. And his generosity towards humans wasn’t one of his more well-known qualities. Turning away from the pathetic thing still staring at him, he began his journey back through the winding pathways between the piles of crates and boxes. He paused momentarily, however, as he heard the soft patter of footsteps behind him. Turning back, he saw the human leaning against a stack, as if barely able to keep herself upright. Those emerald-colored eyes still lingered on him, piercing through him to the point he felt a surge of anger. How dare this pathetic human stare so? Did she think merely making pathetic eyes at him would elicit some sort of sympathy? 

He growled, turning away again and resuming his movements through to the other end of the warehouse, speeding up in an effort to leave the limping thing behind. Yet still he heard the shuffling, the stumbling, the weak breathing as the girl struggled to keep up. Finally at the end of the labyrinth, he heard a weak voice say, “Are they gone?”

He stopped again, turning his eyes back to the human. She looked too small, too fragile - probably no more than ten years old, if even that. Saren found himself thinking how irritating humans were. Why were they so soft, so easy to break? Just like a damned asari, yet not even half as useful. He watched as the girl stumbled again, falling to the floor with a cry. Pathetic humans. Useless. Pointless.

“Where… are my parents?” Her voice cracked. He saw fresh tears pool in her eyes, an odd phenomenon he had never seen in turians. He merely stared the girl down again as she begged, “Please..”

“They’re gone.” 

He couldn’t recall ever seeing a human cry. Yet now, as he watched the girl seemingly lose all strength and slump to the floor, tears pouring freely down her dirt-stained cheeks, something seemed to give him pause. He watched her curl up, heard soft denials and rambling whispers. Sobs. Choking. It was a pitiful sight. 

Seemingly moving without thinking, he realized his talon was resting on her back, nearly engulfing the tiny body. The pitiable noises only seemed to increase in volume, and soon he felt irritation creep in as well. 

“Move on. You’d only disappoint them with all this pathetic mewling.” 

He was harsh. It wasn’t needed, but it was all he knew - all he felt like telling the girl. It wasn’t in his interests to help a traumatized human child. Yet as he withdrew from her, he heard the sobs lessen, even as sniffles still sounded from the girl’s hunched over form. 

“Sir!” One of his men appeared just beyond the final alley, mandibles moving in surprise as he took in the sight. Saren looked up at him, eyes narrowed. He quickly stood straight, towering over the other turian in an effort to remind the man of his authority. It was disgraceful to him, to have been seen kneeling beside a pitiful human. “Is.. she a survivor, sir?” 

“Obviously. Leave her - the Alliance will be here shortly. They can take care of this…” he turned to look at her small, shivering form. “This mess.”

“... Yes, sir. We’re ready to leave whenever you give the word.”

“Then get moving. I want to be light years away from this planet within the next fifteen minutes.”

The subordinate saluted and turned away, heading back down the hallway. Saren moved to follow, more than ready to leave this pathetic colony behind - but was stopped by a weak tug at his claws. The girl’s hand had slipped around his own, and she now came to stand beside him, knees threatening to buckle. His first instinct was to shake her off, but as she wrapped a tiny arm around his own and buried her face into his hand, he couldn’t seem to do so. 

“Don’t leave…”

Saren let out a low growl. There was irritation at the girl’s audacity - not only to demand something of him, but to touch him? Yet something stopped him from sending her flying back into a crate in disgust. Perhaps the weak, pathetic child in front of him elicited a strange sort of pity. He didn’t know, and that bothered him more than a little. 

Yet soon he found himself catching the human as her legs finally gave way, sending her to the floor had he not intervened. A moment later, he stood upright, carrying the small thing in his arms. 

This was supposed to simply be a routine mission.

Only it wasn’t.

 

Saren was bordering between irritation and exasperation as they made the flight back. With the FTL travel between systems, it wouldn’t be long before they reached the mass relay and made the jump to the Citadel - but until then, he was unfortunately stuck sitting in place, unable to move because of the small human resting in his lap. 

The girl had seemingly passed out as soon as they had set off, understandably exhausted from the ordeal she must have went through when the slavers attacked. The only medic in the squad had wanted to examine her for any further, unseen injuries, but Saren had waved him off and said it was unnecessary. Medi-gel would keep her stable enough until they were able to pass her off to the Alliance rep they were to meet upon arrival. She wasn’t their responsibility in the first place.

He peered down at the young human. He hadn’t had much experience in dealing with children of the species, so perhaps they were all as lightweight as she - he had no way of knowing. It was at least one less irritation, even if he was curious whether she should be so easy to carry and hold. 

With little better to do until they arrived or she awoke, Saren decided to look the girl over further. The first thing one would usually notice was the head of beautifully bright blonde hair - a rarity in the current century, as it had become a genetically recessive trait displayed by fewer and fewer humans. Not that Saren was aware of that fact, but even without being so, he thought the color pleasing, even if that didn’t amount to much in actuality. With the help of the medi-gel, her bruises had healed rather quickly, leaving her skin flawless once more save for a small, barely-discernable splatter of freckles along her cheekbones. She would probably grow to be an attractive woman to other humans. 

Her hands seemed so small compared to his. Turians tended to stand a bit larger than humans in general, and Saren was an especially tall member of his species, but the sheer disparity between the size of his own and the child’s was almost fascinating. They rested against his chest, loosely curled as she slumbered. As if prodding at some specimen, Saren lifted a free hand up and poked a talon against the girl’s tiny fingers, almost caught by surprise when they seemed to jerk slightly and move around the length of it. She even seemed to squirm her entire body closer, as if clinging to it like some sort of sheet. He quickly removed his hand, curious about the look of worry that seemed to pass over her features. Repeating the motion, it was almost amusing how she performed the same action, and had the same expression.

As if playing with a curious toy, Saren did this a few more times, a low chuckle rising from his throat. How was he finding amusement in this? The thought gave him pause as he once more pulled his hand away from the girl, mandibles moving in irritation as he turned his gaze away. A subtle shift on his lap had him peering down again just long enough to see the girl squirm closer to him, head pressing into the crook between his arm and chest. 

Detestable as they were, he had to admit to himself that humans were… curious creatures.

 

The girl finally awoke not long before they hit the mass relay. At first she had blinked multiple times, looked around as if not quite sure where she was. Saren wondered if she’d believed it all to be a dream - not just their meeting, but the entire attack on the colony as well. He almost felt sorry for her, as her expression twisted upon the dawning realization that this was reality, that the events of the past few hours had truly happened to her. That she was now alone, the only living survivor of an entire colony. Fresh tears pooled in her eyes, causing that bright emerald to shimmer amid the dull lighting within the ship. She looked up to him, as if pleading him to tell her it really was all just a nightmare - but Saren gave her no such placations. He stared back, eyes stern and cold, letting them say all that was needed. 

This time, however, he let the child cry freely. An odd sort of compassion he normally didn’t display, and one he was questioning deeply. Saren allowed her to cling to him and cry, even as he felt disgust and irritation at the sounds she made.

After what felt like hours, he heard her calm down enough to ask, “Where am I?” 

He didn’t respond immediately, thinking over his words and what would be best to tell her. But before he could even start, she had slipped off his lap and was making her way towards the nearby window. It wasn’t nearly the size of those that could be found on human ships - humans did always have some fascination with wide open views into space - but it was just enough to view the stars passing by on their voyage. Saren watched as the girl stood there, seemingly mesmerized by the sight. He had to wonder whether she had ever been off-world before. 

Judging by the innocent sense of wonder he saw in her eyes as she sat down near the window, Saren felt it was safe to assume she hadn’t. 

“Enjoy it while you can,” he said, voice barely more than a whisper. She didn’t seem to hear him. That was fine. 

Saren sat back in his chair, keeping an eye on the child even as he called up his omni-tool to check reports and communications from the Council. It was more than a little amusing to see the girl’s eyes widen as they passed by a planet, the small sound of surprise she made. But so long as she was away from him and not keeping him rooted to the spot, Saren didn’t mind the silly noises. 

Another hour or so passed, and soon he saw her slump down to the floor, curling up as if in pain. Another member of the squad seemed to grow worried, and rose from their seat as if to check on the human - but stopped short at the look he was given from the Spectre. Saren growled in irritation, making his way from his own perch over to the human child. But all he found was her sleeping form, eyes closed once again and little hands curled up close to her body. He exhaled a snort. Still too exhausted from the ordeal on Mindoir, he supposed. 

A moment later he was back in his spot, irritated once more at the tiny little girl keeping him stuck in his seat. 

 

She wouldn’t let go of his hand. Understandable, to a degree; children of any species would always look to cling to some comfort when presented with unfamiliar surroundings or people. Even he knew this, though it didn’t stop him wondering just why he was comfortable to her when they had barely spoken more than a few words since she had been found - and especially after their first encounter began with him pointing a gun at her. There was little he could do in the situation, however, and a part of him had already given up any ideas of shaking the tiny thing away from him. She would be out of his presence soon enough and he would be able to get back to work, far away from the irritating behavior of a pathetic human child. 

He had waved away the other turians as soon as they had docked, ordering them to go make their reports while he took care of this business with the Alliance. Saren and the child stood alone in an elevator, silent as it descended all too agonizingly slowly down into the depths of the Citadel. They were to meet the Alliance representative in the Embassies on the Presidium, and Saren could only hope it was a quick handoff. He didn’t relish the thought of interacting with a human, especially one from their damned military - too much continuing bad blood between turians and humans would have made the exchange uncomfortable to begin with, even if Saren didn’t hold such a hatred for the species. In addition, he couldn’t help feeling almost angry at the uselessness they were displaying in defending their own colonies from attacks. It was their own fault for pushing into the Attican Traverse so relentlessly, despite repeated warnings over the dangers presented by the nearby Terminus Systems, but even so there should have been a reasonable effort made to protect their colonists. But humans had continuously proven over the years since they were first introduced to galactic society that they could rarely do anything right. Even holding an embassy was almost a joke, with how little humanity had proven itself compared to many other species within the galaxy - most of which didn’t hold even a fraction of influence as humans now did. It was almost as if humanity simply expected all the power to be given to them, and for the other species in Council space to fix their mistakes along the way. 

Which was irritating in a number of ways, to say the least.

Saren let out a grumble thinking about it, which garnered the girl’s attention. She struggled to look up at him, and he only gave her the briefest of glances before facing forward once more. He felt a light squeeze on his hand, but paid it no mind. 

The elevator finally stopped, and he tugged the girl along after him as he exited into the darkened interior of Citadel Security. He garnered some curious looks from many officers heading to and fro on various duties and assignments, though a simple glare was all it took to silence any smart thoughts they may have had. Most saluted him as he passed, his position as a Spectre - one of the most decorated and famous - being of widespread knowledge. It was for this reason that they were not accosted by customs or the usual regulations one had to deal with upon arriving at the Citadel, and so he quickly guided them along to another elevator, one leading up into the Presidium. A large glass door slid shut behind them as he pressed the floor button, and the girl let go of his hand for a moment as she moved towards it, looking out at the C-Sec headquarters as they began their ascent. 

Her innocent curiosity with everything was oddly endearing to him, though Saren would have never admitted it.

Soon she wandered back over to him, after they ascended past the length of the C-Sec landing and all that was seen behind the glass was white walls, almost sheepishly reaching up to hold onto him once more. Saren emitted a low growl, but did not resist when he felt those tiny, soft hands wrap around his palm. He felt the little girl press against him, entire body leaning on his side. 

Why do you cling to me so? he wanted to ask, but did not. He didn’t want to speak to her more than necessary - and there was very little necessity in doing so.

Arriving on the Presidium an agonizing moment later, Saren once more pulled the human along after him, not stopping to allow her to take in the sights even when he heard her whine over it. His mind was focused on finally being rid of this nuisance of a child, and so he briskly walked them into the Embassies and up the staircases towards where the human office was located. A few workers milled about here too, and he felt the stares of many as they passed; it only seemed to spur his stride onwards as he quickly pulled the girl into the human embassy. Perhaps too quickly, as her yelp drew the attention of the three adults standing within, and caused Saren himself to wince, almost remorseful. 

He thought to apologize, but the ambassador storming over to him cut any thought of doing so out of his mind. He felt the woman’s glare before he saw it, and met it with one equally as ferocious. When she spoke, however, her voice was polite and formal - if one very obviously forced. 

“Spectre Arterius. Allow me to thank you on behalf of the Alliance for your assistance on Mindoir, and for your timely rescue of one of the only survivors. Though it saddens me that so few managed to escape, a single child is worth far more than none at all.” Her eyes shifted to the little girl at that moment, and Saren felt a seething rage rising within him. His mandibles flared, if only for a moment before he regained control of himself and tugged the child forward. He felt such a disgust for the ambassador that part of him almost was unwilling to relinquish the girl. Their military couldn’t even protect a single colony, how could he trust that the idiotic species could take care of a traumatized child?

But he shook off the girl’s hand, prodding her forward towards the ambassador. She tried to give the child a smile, though it too seemed almost forced. As another of the humans approached - a comely female dressed in uniform - she began speaking softly to the blonde-headed girl, asking typical coddling questions which irritated Saren to even hear. No wonder humans were all such soft, pathetically weak creatures. Any species would be if their young were babied even at this age. 

Perhaps the sudden closeness of two unfamiliar people frightened her - Saren had no real way of knowing - but soon the girl seemed to recoil, moving away from the ambassador and Alliance representative and returning to his side. He looked down at the child in curiosity as she seemingly hid behind his large frame, tiny hands gripping onto his leg as she pressed into him, shivering. He saw the flash of irritation in the ambassador’s eyes as she glanced at him. 

“Hey now, sweetie… it’s okay. You’re safe now - nobody’s going to hurt you,” the uniformed woman said, voice calm and slow as she knelt down and kept her gaze locked on the child. Saren clicked his mandibles in irritation. She had been safe ever since he made the foolish decision to bring her aboard his ship. 

“I imagine travelling with aliens must have been quite the shock for her, so soon after the attack,” the ambassador said, voice dripping with barely-restrained toxin as her eyes left Saren and travelled down to the girl. “She’s barely old enough to have ever been off-world, I imagine.” 

“And certainly not old enough to have to experience something like a slaver raid.” 

Saren’s voice dripped with anger, easily drawing the attention of all three adults and a myriad of expressions from each. His talons found their way to the child’s soft hair, tangling in it with an uncommon gentleness. This was what he despised about humans. They thought nothing of the consequences of their actions, of the long-reaching effects they would have not just on other species, but on themselves - on the very same people they promised aid and protection to for giving up all they had to travel far away and colonize new and unfamiliar worlds. Did any of the ones in front of him even truly care about the death present at the colony? Of the people taken away to be sold and traded like property? Or was their only concern that this attack would make the Alliance look as incompetent as it really was? Saren was inclined to believe the latter. 

“What happened on Mindoir is tragic, but sadly it was a risk the colonists knew of when they signed up for the project. The Attican Traverse is a dangerous area of space, which is why-”

“Which is why your Alliance should be doing more to defend the territory you humans are so insistent upon acquiring. Not stand by doing nothing while your own people are taken hostage or killed and strung up like trophies.” His voice was raised now, hatred seething outward. “If humanity insists upon expanding at such a rate, it must be prepared to defend itself and its civilians. If you can’t even protect your own species, why would the rest of the galaxy expect any aid should humanity be called upon for a war in the near future? You humans like to believe you’re the dominant species in the galaxy, that you deserve all the power and influence you’re being handed by the Council - but I am here to tell you that being the Council’s new pet project does not equate to being ready to join galactic politics.”

As the ambassador tried to sputter out a response, Saren pushed the girl towards the Alliance member, snarling in disgust as he quickly turned away and stalked towards the door. 

He was done trying to speak with humans. Who was he to care about the fate of a single little girl, when she would grow to be just as idiotic and entitled as all the rest. Even as he heard her voice call out for him, he kept his back turned and briskly exited the Embassies, not once looking back.


End file.
